Our Maple Tree Farm.

Today I’m excited to share some photos of our new farmhouse with you. We are truly in love with this property. The photos can’t capture the magic atmosphere of this place, known as the Wittenberg Farm. Very soon we’re going to start building a large room on the second floor that will be my provisional studio until we build a separate one from the house in the future.

↓ The front of this house will look very different in the future. I’m planing to plant a wonderful garden in that front area. But also in other areas. We have plenty of land for gardening, about 11 acres. The most important things on my Christmas wish list are: gardening tools, seeds, and anything related to gardening.

↓ Here is the back of the house. We want to build a glass enclosed porch on the stone deck area in the future. It will be nice for our family and friends to seat there and enjoy the beautiful view. The previous owners left some outdoor furniture for us that I can’t wait to sand and paint when the weather allows next year.

↓ They also left a swing set for the kids.

↓ The room/studio that we’re adding on the right side of the house will be at the same level as the highest point of the roof now. That in my opinion will improve the look of the property in general by making it more solid. I already saw the blueprint drawings and they look great. Our architect is working on preserving the general style of this house, originally built in 1917.

↓ Here is another view of the house. On the right side of the picture you see the corner of a shed that is falling apart. I can’t wait to fix it, or replace it by a new one sometime in the future.

↓ A better view of that shed. There is also a tiny one on the left side of it.

↓ We love this cozy stone area perfect for family gatherings.

↓ This giant tree is over 200 years old. It looked amazing before the leaves fell down.

↓ This property has more trees than I can count with all my fingers and toes combined. Even with all the fingers and toes from Bill, Natalie, Diego, Miro, and I combined. That’s a wonderful thing.

↓This meditation platform in the woods is one of my favorite things here. I can’t wait to use it.

↓ From this view you can see a little man on the stone deck. He is in fact a tall man and in this picture he’s taking measurements. His name is Hugh, our wonderful contractor who has a great reputation for being very food at his job.

↓ That miniature shed in the woods is the original bathroom used by farmers many years ago, when toilets were not available. Toilets back then were simple wooden boxes. I have an emotional connection to that tiny shed, because that’s the type of bathroom that I had while growing up in Cuba. Having a toilet in my neighborhood was a luxury that we could not afford.

↓ Here is another shed. It is a little hard to see because the color of the wood is dark. But it is right in the center of the picture.

↓Here is a closeup. This used to be a place for animals.

↓ Our beloved tree house.

↓ It needs a new ladder, maybe with handles to make it safer.

↓ A closeup of the treehouse beautifully built with wood from around the property.

↓ Now let’s open the front door to go inside.

↓ The interior of this house is very cozy, inviting, and it smells great. Smells tell you lots of stories about houses.

↓ Something that I love about this house is the large glass windows. We have plenty of them, so there is light coming in from everywhere. The spaces are the perfect size for a comfortable and practical life, not too big and not too small, just the perfect human size.

↓ I love the beams and the dark wooden floors with beautiful natural patterns.

↓ The previous owner left this antique floor lamp for us. Thank you N.! It is so nice in person. N. is a producer of fashion videos and buying the house from her was a pleasure. She’s very detail oriented, that’s why the property is in such a great shape.

↓ Natalie and I are talking about turning these open shelves into cabinet of curiosities. They are located between the living room and the dinning room.

↓ Here is a view from the dinning room. The door with oval glass is the front door.

↓ A detail of the glass window in the living room. It is much nicer in person.

↓ A different view of the dinning room with 3 large windows. The dinning room table goes just in front of the windows.

↓ Here is another photo that I took from the 3 windows that you just saw. On the left is the kitchen.

↓ We love the iron heater.

↓ Here is a closeup. Notice the 3 women harvesting. Very soon there will be 4 and a half women harvesting around here, when Natalie and I join the crew.

↓ Now you see the kitchen with green cabinets.

↓ I can’t wait to start using this kitchen. But first I’m going to repaint the cabinets in a lighter shade of green, or maybe blue. After having white cabinets for many years, it’s time for some color.

↓ The open shelves are great. Perfect for displaying nice things, including my collection of cook books.

↓ I’m thinking about re-staining the wooden countertops in a darker shade.

↓ That door on the right takes you to the laundry room.

↓ Here is another area in the kitchen, perfect for a table and chairs to enjoy breakfast in the morning with the family.

↓ The bathrooms are a dream with old bathtubs and high ceilings.

↓ Lots of light in the bathrooms as well, and lots of privacy with views to the woods.

↓ The staircase to the second floor is lovely.

↓ View from the second floor.

I still have to take pictures of the bedrooms, but this tour gives you an idea of the blank canvas that we will be working on. I can’t wait to turn this place into our home. If the construction goes as planned, we should be moving here sometime in March of 2015.

↑ And for relatives and friends that were wondering if we would be too isolated here, I’m happy to show you this picture. This quiet road is only a few feet away from the house and it takes us straight into town in about 5 minutes or less. That’s something to love about this location. It is private enough so that you can run around naked (we’re not planning to do that) but at the same time is only a few minutes away from everything.

Oooooh, I love the bright interior. I can imagine taking catnaps in all that sun. All the stone work outside makes me think of the illustrations byTasha Tudor. It was fun to take the tour, Elsita. I hope you thrive in your new home.Jan recently posted..Godzilla Needs Warm Butter Too

This is so beautiful. It so brings back lovely memories and experiences of this summer in Connecticut and Maine. Also I am impressed of how well preserved it is. Enjoy living here!AriadnefromGreece!Ariadne recently posted..Our trip to the U.S.A.(13)- 4th of July Festivities.

What a wonderful ride this is going to be for your family! I can just see all the magic that will happen on this beautiful piece of property! Love the kitchen, it really has a nice feel too it. Can’t wait to see it all unfold 🙂

Hmmm… I thought your old house was the house of my dreams, but now I see that my dreams had some room for improvement! This place looks so perfect for you guys. Now, are you going to cross out the “Witten” and put “Hor” on that sign? Also, I love the wood stove!!! The painting that the picture on the side is from is one of my favorites, and it has such a rich history and meaning, too. Just perfect. I really can’t wait to visit you there!

hello Elsita, I thought you might be interested to know that the three women harvesting on the stove are Les Glaneuses by Jean-François Millet, who is better known for his Angélus (that Dali turned into ruins in his Réminiscence archéologique de l’Angélus de Millet). Beautiful house.

Elsa – What an amazing find! You must be blessed to have found this incredibly gorgeous property. I love the sheds and the special areas and everything about it! The house is so perfect as well … love the kitchen … the stove! It’s all wonderful … and Bearsville is an awesome area. What a wonderful life you will grow there. xo MornaMorna Crites-Moore recently posted..la, la, labradorite